


unfold before you what i've strung together

by trustingno1



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-15
Updated: 2015-01-15
Packaged: 2018-03-07 16:57:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3177391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trustingno1/pseuds/trustingno1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Is that," and the words still don't come easily, "something you-" she breaks off.</p><p>He doesn't answer immediately.</p><p>"Something I've thought about?" he asks, meeting her gaze and holding it. "I'd be lying if I said the thought had never crossed my mind."</p><p>(immediately post 7x07).</p>
            </blockquote>





	unfold before you what i've strung together

**Author's Note:**

> A quick post-ep for 7x07.

"You were pretty good with Stan today," she says, and he tilts his head in acknowledgement. She hesitates. "Is that," and the words still don't come easily, "something you-" she breaks off.  
  
He doesn't answer immediately.  
  
"Something I've thought about?" he asks, meeting her gaze and holding it. "I'd be lying if I said the thought had never crossed my mind."  
  
"Oh," she says, quietly.  
  
"Oh," he repeats - a gentle tease, and she smiles slightly, as he looks away.  
  
"Is it something I want?" he asks, and shrugs. "Well - _yeah_ ," he admits, a little helplessly, and her stomach clenches. "I want a _family_ ," he says, "in whatever form that happens to take."  
  
"OK," she says, slowly, and that's not something she can _promise_ him, but he smiles, without looking over at her.  
  
"But I ... would not be disappointed," he says, carefully, "if that family was nieces and nephews."  
  
He still doesn't look at her, giving her a moment (and the _permanency_ of that thought-)  
  
"So you're dating me to get close to my brothers," she mutters, into her can of lukewarm beer. "Great."  
  
He smiles, the lines around his eyes deepening, allows the joke. "You caught me."  
  
She bites the inside of her bottom lip, before saying, haltingly, "I never thought you'd want - more -" and that's not, not _quite_ right, but ' _another child_ ' sounds _worse_ -  
  
"I didn't," he admits. "Not for a very long time." He smiles, wryly. "Not that it was ever even a - a possibility." And it wasn't, back then, back when he was harder and colder, when Red John _consumed_ him. "I was - scared. Scared that it would feel like trying to replace her. Scared that I wouldn't be able to protect another child."  
  
"Jane," she says, thickly (and while he's lighter and _freer_ , these days, the thought that he failed his daughter, failed as a father, she knows, will follow him to his grave).  
  
"Is it something I _need_ , though?" he asks, and he's watching the kids playing on the blanket in front of them. "No."  
  
"No?" she echoes.  
  
"I think you'd be a great mom," he says, and the fact that he's _thought_ about that - "But I think you've already raised three brothers. And we have dangerous jobs, _and_ we're not getting any younger-" she shoves at his shoulder, and he catches her hand. She turns it in his grip, until she's holding his fingers, and traces his first finger lightly with her thumb. "So _if_ you were asking if I need a child to be happy," he says, gently -  
  
"Which I'm not," she points out. Hypotheticals. All hypotheticals.  
  
"Which you're not," he agrees, "But. If you were." He glances over at her, then, "No. I don't."  
  
She lets out a shaky breath.  
  
"OK," she says, and his face relaxes into a grin.  
  
" _Whew_ ," he says, exaggeratedly, "Some heavy conversations today." His gaze softens. "Say it again."  
  
"OK?" she teases, mock-puzzled, and his free hand comes up to cup her cheek, urging her towards him.  
  
"No," he murmurs.  
  
"Oh!" she pretends to realize, before sobering. "I love you," she says, for only the second time.  
  
"I love you, too," he says (as though, after these last few days, she could ever _doubt_ it), and he tugs her in for a quick but _achingly_ sweet kiss.  
  
  
  


End file.
